A Sense of Accomplishment... & CHOCOLATE!!

2 things I dislike:

1. Doing Laundry

2. Cleaning

2 things I like:

1. Clean Laundry

2. A Clean House

Hmm, what do we do about this??? Well, I've decided that the good part of them is the Sense of Accomplishment it gives me. Well... that is, after I finally decide I've procrastinated enough! So the other day I was tackling some disliked dirty laundry, and my laundry area is in the basement (which is another dislike because of the MANY spiders down there!!) and is not nicely set up for laundry, just a washer & a dryer beside each other and a laundry tub.

Someday I want to have a counter & some storage in my laundry area. Like this for example. Ah, I can dream can't I?

(photo from bhg.com)

So I had an ever growing pile of white linens and shirts and anything pure white (this pile has been growing for a while, I am ashamed to say) that needed to have a good Iron Out treatment. So feeling unusally laundry-like ambitious I decided today is the day, so I looked around for a tub large enough to soak them in. Well, I couldn't find anything, so I started looking at my sad, neglected laundry tub/sink... Which for the past many months has been used only as a cleaning hub for paintbrushes and rollers, so it was not looking pretty!!

Well, thank-you, Burst of Energy/Ambition, I decided I've had enough of a dirty laundry sink that didn't function beyond cleaning paint brushes, so I grabbed some rags, Greased Lightening & soap and boy did I scrub, all that combined with a good dose of elbow grease & 2 raw fingers I now have a sparkling clean laundry tub, and it was put to good use soaking those whites! And now I have a pile of fresh smelling linens & shirts & a pair of capris that badly needed a whitening treatment. Ah, a Sense of Accomplishment!!:) And the best thing was I tackled both disliked things, 2 birds with 1 stone! Yay!!

2 more things I LIKE:

1. Cooking
2. Baking


This particular item would be the baking...


Continuing on with the Zucchini & Squash Recipes I'm trying.

Chocolate Zucchini Bread

1/2 C butter, softened

1 C sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

1 1/2 C flour

3 T baking cocoa

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1 C grated, unpeeled zucchini

1/2 C choc. chips (I used 1 C mini choc. chips, because, well, hello, it's CHOCOLATE!!)

In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter & sugar. Beat in eggs & vanilla. Combine the flour, cocoa, salt, baking soda & cinnamon; gradually add to creamed mixture. Stir in the zucchini & choc. chips. Spoon into a greased 8x4x2 loaf pan. Bake at 350 for 60-70 min. or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 min. before removing from pan to a wire rack.

P.S. I used a 9x5 bread pan, didn't have an 8x4.

Very good, chocolatey, moist, dense. MMMM... It's actually more like a brownie, how about a piece warmed up with a scoop of vanilla icecream & some rich homemade chocolate fudge sauce. Oh, now that would be great!:) Who knew something with a vegetable in it could taste so desserty?:)

Have a great weekend everyone! We're headed on a very last minute camping trip so I've got to get moving!!